Vermin - A Poppy O'Possum Fanfiction
by Julian McQueen
Summary: Slight AU - When Charlie fails to follow Boss Chicadino's orders properly, the crime lord decided to task the opossum with a more unconventional way to pay off his debts. Will Charlie be able to survive living at the Seventh Heaven unscathed, or will his world be turned upside-down?
1. Chapter 1

As usual, Charlie was in trouble. But if anyone knew him, there was no hole he dug that he couldn't climb out of.

Except maybe this one.

This wasn't like the time he pissed off Harley's dad and was chased for nearly ten blocks, or the time he had the tar beaten outta him for trying to scam the Fixer Chicks for the third or so time. No, this time he was in serious trouble, and it didn't seem like thing were going to end well for Charlie the opossum.

It was supposed to be a simple courier mission, all he and Harley had to do was move a few tiny bottles from one side of Eggton to the next for the crime boss Chicadino, to repay some minor gambling debts. Harley would simply stash them in her pouch and no one would be the wiser. Then they'd get Charlie's debt paid, leave Eggton and all their problems would be put behind them.

But unfortunately, the Madamas seemed to want to chuck Charlie over, and they did such by planting an obstacle named Poppy directly into his path.

This obstacle, which appeared to be an innocent and kind opossum, was reasonable single-handily destroyed Charlie and Harley's chance of a new life. When Harley bumped into Poppy, she ended up dropping one of bottles, and Charlie was forced to reclaim it. Unfortunately, Poppy the obstacle had garnered some attention by the time Charlie found her again. Luckily, despite her physical strength and prowess, he was able to confront her and heroically reclaim the vial.

But unfortunately, the Madamas seemed to want to chuck Charlie over again, and they did such by having Fazzi show up exactly as he reclaimed the bottle.

Fazzi, an employee of Chicadino, was a rather odd person. The goat was known to have a rather bent personality, with a voice to match. However, despite seeming quiet and hiding in her large navy-blue overcoat, she was not to be trifled with. Her lucky star power gave her the ability to bend anything she touched at a right angle, such as a piece of wood, or Charlie's hand. She was the one who confronted Charlie over his debts, and she was the one who tasked Charlie with the delivery of the bottles.

Only now he failed, and Fazzi was now standing over Poppy, her arm bent and broken, as she was now talking on her communicator. The goat was about to kill Poppy, yet was stopped by what sounded like Chicadino on the phone. After a few minutes, Fazzi knelt down to Poppy and touched the opossum's broken arm again.

"[So, I've been informed that Opossums are apparently people now.]" Fazzi explained to Poppy as she straightened Poppy's arm, the opossum shouted in pain. "[I can't imagine why, but I apologize nonetheless.]"

Fazzi walked over to Charlie and sighed. "[It also appears I am late…]" Carefully, the goat picked Charlie up, placing him inside her coat. "[So I'll be taking this and be on my way.]" She then trotted off, informing Poppy that Chicadino wished to meet her before the Goat finally left the alleyway.

* * *

Charlie waited anxiously as he was carried by Fazzi through the Southern District of Eggton. They had walked for what felt like an hour before Charlie was pulled out of Fazzi's coat, carrying him under the crook of her arm.

"[Mr. Chicadino has informed me that you've failed to deliver the materials on time.]" She muttered, looking straight ahead as she walked, her voice pierced Charlie's core like a stake. "[That's very bad. I assumed something like you would be capable of stuff like this.]"

Charlie's ears flattened as his stomach dropped. "I-I-I'm… I'm sorry!" He tried explaining himself. "I had all the bottles, and… um… me and Harley, we ran into that opossum girl, and we must've dropped one of the bottles by accid-"

"[Tough. Mr. Chicadino is very disappointed you were not capable of doing this simple task.]" Fazzi continued. "[He needs those bottles, and little inconveniences like you are very troublesome for him.]" Fazzi stopped and put Charlie down. "[The bottle, please.]" Fazzi pulled out a small red satchel and opened it, revealing a group of small glowing bottles.

Charlie's stomach dropped lower as realized where Fazzi got the bottles from. "Harley… what did you…?"

Fazzi sighed. "[Your wife is fine, for now, I simply collected the shipment from her and told her that you'd be given a different task to settle your debt.]" Fazzi shook the bag slightly. "[So, if you could…]"

Charlie exhaled in relief as he placed the bottle he reclaimed from Poppy into the bag. Fazzi placed the bag into her coat, and picked up Charlie again.

"So…" Charlie muttered. "What WILL I be doing for Chicadino now instead of delivering bottles…?"

Fazzi said nothing and smirked, which in Charlie's opinion was never a good sign.

* * *

It took a few more blocks until Fazzi and Charlie reached their destination on the far Southern side of Eggton. Charlie looked around as Fazzi trotted through what appeared to be an small overgrown courtyard, complete with moss-covered tables, chairs, and a moss-covered fountain in the center. The area appeared to be abandoned on the outside, and the two-story building that Fazzi approached seemed to look very old, the sign bolted to the door was worn and barely readable, and the red paint on the walls was coming off in chunks.

As they entered the building, however, it almost seemed the complete opposite. The main lobby was clean and beautiful with elegant carpeting and fancy paintings hung on the freshly-painted walls. Crimson curtains covered the windows, and the entire lobby was illuminated by a combination of a few gilded lamps and a chandelier that hung from the ceiling. The room gave the atmosphere of an elegant palace, and the colors seemed warm and inviting. To the sides of the lobby were stairs that led to several doors, much like a hotel, and there was a front desk in the center of the lobby.

As Fazzi approached the front desk in the center, she simply clicked her tongue, resulting in a sharp note that made Charlie wince. A few seconds later, a door behind the front desk opened, and a leopard woman walked out. She was a slightly heavyset woman, wearing a red cheongsam dress, proudly displaying the scars all over her arms, legs and shoulders. Her face was what took Charlie back, as it appeared to be a metallic half-face opera mask stuck to her face, the flesh visibly welded to the mask as she talked.

"Fazzi!" She exclaimed happily. "Do what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Is Mr. Chicadino in need of my services again?" She crossed her arms and smirked, the mask pulling half of her mouth into a twisted grin. "Or are you here to collect his payments?"

Fazzi placed Charlie down and removed her hat, the brim bending as she touched it. "[Not today, Madame Portgaz.]" She answered, resulting in Madame Portgaz to wince slightly. "[But Mr. Chicadino requests that you place this… opossum here under your services.]"

Madame Portgaz looked at Charlie, who looked back at her nervously, and rose an eyebrow. "Hm, another one indebted to Chicadino's glorious generosity I see… And a boy too…"

Fazzi shrugged. "[I don't know. Boss has a weird sense of humor sometimes. I assumed that it'd be his wife instead, but Chicadino specifically wanted this one to do it…]" Fazzi reached over and picked up a pen, the writing utensil bending and leaking ink as she touched it. "[I guess you'll have guests for him?]" Fazzi inquired, wiping the ink from the pen on her coat.

Madame Portgaz snorted. "Yeah. I have a few guests in mind who enjoy some variety in their services." She pulled a cigar from her dress and lit it. "How much does he owe you guys?"

"[About 60K at least.]"

The masked leopard chuckled through smoke from her cigar. "Holy sha, half my girls have worked here for years and don't have that much debt." She looked down at Charlie, who was standing silently the entire time. "You're gonna be working here for a while, kiddo."

Fazzi placed back on her hat as she turned. "[If there's nothing else, I'd need to go. I'm running late for another appointment and-] "

Madame Portgaz waved her hand at Fazzi, grinning a half-twisted grin. "Don't worry about it, I got him handled. Tell the big bird I said hello, and that the poucher's in good hands."

Fazzi tipped her hat, bending the brim again, as she walked out the door. Charlie stood there in silence for a moment as he tried to comprehend what just happened to him. Madame Portgaz walked over and smacked Charlie on the back. "What's your name, kid?"

"Ch-Charlie."

"Well, Charlie. I hope you kissed your wife goodbye, cuz you ain't seeing her for a while. In fact, if you get through this, you might not even want to."

Charlie followed Madame Portgaz down a small hallway in the back of the building. According to her, only the lobby and the guest rooms needed to be decorated, anything else was a waste of time.

"So, this is like a hotel for Chicadino's thugs, right?" Charlie asked. "I mean, they can't use the government sanctioned taverns, so they come here, right?"

Madame Portgaz chuckled, "Oh, they come here, all right. But they don't come here for sleep, they're not the only ones who do…"

* * *

As they reached one of the back rooms, Charlie noticed as three young women, all wearing ragged lavender tank tops and black long pants, were sitting together washing drying and folding multiple copies of those same tank tops and long pants, which lied in a pile in-between the girls.

"Eh, Lucia!" Madame Portgaz, resulting in one of the girls, a young black Puma with a scar on her forehead, to immediately stand up and trot over to the leopard.

"Hey mama," Lucia greeted Madam Portgaz, before glancing over at Charlie. "I thought you said guests weren't allowed back here."

Madame Portgaz smirked her twisted smirk. "Nah girl, this here is a new member of our little family, so I want you to get him ready."

Lucia bent her long neck down and looked at Charlie closely. "Mama, I highly doubt anyone is going to wanna be interested in a clockbelly like this one..." She muttered. "And we haven't had a guy on our staff in a long time…"

Madame Portgaz crossed her arms. "I don't give a damn." She hissed. "I know at least three of Chicadino's boys that got sad after Chicadino took my last opossum girl, and you know we get male-oriented guests all the time. I'm sure he'll get some work in him. So get him chucking dressed and cleaned already!"

Charlie rubbed the back of his head, still confused over what EXACTLY he was going to be doing. "Um…" He interjected, the two women stared down at him. "Just… what will I be doing exactly?"

Lucia gave Madame Portgaz a sly look. "Aw, Mama. You didn't even tell him?" She shook her head.

The masked leopard shrugged. "I would've thought either Fazzi would've told him, or he'd figure out on his own. I know most you girls did." She walked behind Lucia and began rubbing her shoulders. "I know you don't need brains here, but I'd expect that you'd have some wits on you."

"Mama." Lucia reminded her. "He's an opossum, remember. Thinkin' is what probably what got him here in the first place."

Madame Portgaz sighed. "Eh, Ofelia had wits and common sense… She figured it out." She walked over to the other cleaning girls and picked up a tank-top and a pair of pants, tossing them over to Charlie. "Get dressed." She muttered.

Charlie slowly picked up and looked at the clothes for a few seconds before glancing at Lucia, and then Madame Portgaz, his expression changing from confusion, to realization, to dread.

It was then that, the obvious fact that had dangled around him finally hit him like a sack of bricks. As "punishment" for his failure, and in order to pay back his debt, Chicadino had promptly sold Charlie to a brothel, as a prostitute. He would likely have to service the scum of Flora, most likely simple thugs and Chicadino's men, until he gained enough money to pay off his debt.

"There we go." Madame Portgaz muttered, smiling proudly. "Told ya he'd get it."

Charlie dropped his new clothes as he backed up to the wall and slid to the floor, his hands covered his head as his body began shaking. "No…Nonononnonono…" He muttered to himself. "N-No… This isn't happening… This is chucking stupid… " His body seized violently as he began sobbing.

Madame Portgaz walked past Lucia and headed down the hallway. "Get him cleaned up and dressed, we open up at dusk." She spoke as she left the room. "Make sure to burn his old clothes."

* * *

Charlie shivered as he sat in the tub, Lucia scrubbing him with a washcloth, the water quickly became murky and discolored as she began. "My god, I know everyone says you opossums are filthy. But I didn't think they actually meant it…" She took the washcloth and scrubbed behind his ears.

The opossum said nothing, he was still in shock over realizing what happened to him. He knew Chicadino had authority on his life due to his debt, but he didn't know it went this far. Charlie assumed the worst would be that he'd be hurt more, like how Fazzi broke his hand. But no, it appeared that the damn bird basically enslaved him.

AND HARLEY! Charlie wondered what Fazzi said to her about her husband's disappearance. Did she simply say Charlie was doing a different job, or did she tell her that he'd be a prostitute for Chicadino's men now, because of his incompetence? He pictured the look on her face as Fazzi told her either one truth or the other, that she wouldn't see him until he was done, that when he was done, that he might not even love her anymore.

"H-Hey!" Lucia spoke up. "Are you crying again?"

* * *

As Charlie watched his lucky trenchcoat go up in flames, Lucia took the time to explain the rules of the brothel. His new uniform was rough and scratchy, and the black pants hugged his thighs. The outfit was obviously made for girls, but it fit his scrawny figure.

"Alright, so we call this place the 'Seventh Heaven', and you always refer to it as such, there is always the chance of there being one of Kit's boys undercover here, and they always got communication charms on 'em." Lucia rubbed the washcloth across her chest and up her neck. "Mama's lucky star can pinpoint the idiots out, but if one of us accidently gives a snitch the info he needs, this place can get shut down and we all get chucked." She turned and glared at Charlie. "And don't you even think of blabbing to the royal guards for protection! I've seen girls try to do that bulsha before."

Lucia wrung the washcloth and let the water pour down her body. "Fazzi always finds them, and they end up seeing a new 'angle' in their lives. It's not a pretty sight…"

The opossum simply nodded his head as Lucia got out of the tub and got dressed. "I won't lie to you, it'll probably hurt."

Charlie looked up at the puma. "What? What will hurt?"

Lucia sighed and looked at Charlie with an empathic expression. "Your first time, it'll probably hurt."

Charlie stood there for a moment before pushing Lucia aside as he kneeled against the tub and vomited. The puma knelt beside him and placed a hand against his back. "W-Why me? Why do I deserve this? I know I'm not-" Charlie hurled again. "-I… I need to get out of here, I want to get out of here. Harley needs me… WHY CAN'T I LEAVE?!" Charlie slammed his fist against the edge of the tub as he broke down in tears for the hundredth time today.

Lucia said nothing, but simply rubbed the opossum's back. Even though he was an opossum, she knew he was right. He didn't deserve this, nobody who worked here did. But it was how it was, and it wasn't the Madamas who controlled their fate. Their god was Chicadino, he made them do as he pleased, and as long as they lived here, that was the way it was to be. So all Charlie could do was take this path, or possibly face an even worse one.

The puma glanced out a window and sighed. "Your wife… her name is Harley, right?"

Charlie looked up at the puma, nodding his head and sniffling. Lucia got up and started to walk out of the room, stopping as she reached the door.

"If you want to survive this, then think of her, remember her name. If she's your wife, and she loves you, she'll understand what you needed to do for her, for both of you." Lucia sighed as she left the room.

"You better get cleaned up, we're gonna open up soon."


	2. Chapter 2

As Madame Portgaz said, the doors of the Seventh Heaven opened up at dusk. Almost immediately men of various species and sizes came walking into the lobby of the building, some of them clamoring with hedonistic pride, others wishing to keep their vices to themselves. As soon as they entered the lobby, Madame Portgaz would greet them warmly, and then gesture them to a wall there all of her employees stood against. By then, Charlie was already standing against the wall, along with Lucia and the rest of the other girls, as the guests walked up to them and began flirting and chatting with them. Charlie noticed as some of the guests wore masks, similar to what Madame Portgaz wore, except they obviously weren't welded to their faces, and were work to hide something.

"They're nobles." Lucia whispered to Charlie. "Some of the guests are high-standing members of Flora, and wear masks to prevent us from recognizing them. Mama don't care as long as they pay well and don't cause trouble."

A boar walked up to Lucia and wiped his snout as he giggled at her. "H…Hey Lucia…!" He spluttered.

The puma smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey baby, you wanna go again?"

The boar grinned, showing his discolored teeth as he grabbed Lucia's arm. "Is 200 Nibbles enough?" He growled.

Lucia's hand moved up to his neck. "It more than enough for you, Gaston~!" She purred as Gaston pulled her away. Lucia looked back at Charlie as she was guided up the stairs, a look that said, "Good luck." was on her face as she walked into the first room with the boar, abandoning Charlie as he waited for his time to come.

Charlie wondered what Harley was doing at this moment, if she was okay. What concerned the opossum the most was whether or not she was safe, that she wasn't suffering at Chicadino's hands. If she was safe, and was unharmed, then maybe Charlie could live through all this.

"Oi, Charlie!" Madame Portgaz shouted, walking over to Charlie and shaking him on the shoulder. "You got a client, room 4. Get up there." Charlie took a deep breath as he slowly walked up the stairway and headed down the hallway to the fourth room. As he passed room one, he heard the loud grunting of Gaston and the seemingly passionate moaning of Lucia, and he shuddered.

Entering the room, he saw that it was a reasonable decent room. Enchanted lamps burned with a variety of warm colors, and the bed had an intricate floral weave to its covers. A nightstand stood beside the bed with two metal glasses and a carafe of water. Charlie nervously looked around for his first client, who appeared to be nowhere in sight. Charlie walked over to the nightstand beside the table and poured himself a glass of water, quickly gulping it down. He prayed his first client wasn't like Gaston, if he was going to get deflowered like this, then at least let it not be a perverse creep.

"You must be Charlie." A deep voice muttered from behind the opossum. "I… will be your client for the evening."

Charlie froze for a second, his tail bent slightly at an angle. He slowly turned to see his client, his mind envisioning how gross or perverse they were going to be. However, nothing prepared Charlie for what he was about it see.

Charlie's first client was a gamba, a short-tailed opossum. He wore a white mask over his face, and a black shawl across his shoulders. He gestured for Charlie to sit on the bed, and Charlie did so. Charlie looked at his client critically. It was a gamba, opossums who used magic, as if Charlie's nightmare wasn't bad enough. The gamba walked over to the end table and poured himself a glass of water with his left hand, then picked up the glass with the same hand and took a drink.

"Hehe, yeah…" Charlie replied hesitantly, not wanting to retort in the ways that left him bloody and bruised in the past. "So… what's your name?"

"No." The gamba replied, as he placed the glass on the end table and turned towards Charlie, undoing the shawl and letting it drop to the floor. Charlie's eyes widened as he saw the gamba's missing arm, and he leaned back on the bed. "Woah, um…"

The gamba suddenly leaned forward, almost impatiently, and pushed Charlie on the bed. The gamba crawled on top and pushed his face towards Charlie's their muzzles' barely meeting. "Ignore it…" The gamba muttered, a small growl reverberated in his voice. "It's nothing…" Charlie let out a muffled gasp as the gamba pressed his lips against Charlie's. The opossum squirmed as his client began kissing him on the muzzle, his tongue probing Charlie's mouth and tongue. The opossum considered for a brief second pushing the gamba off and leaving this place as fast as he could. However, while Charlie wasn't bright, he wasn't stupid either. In the back of his mind, he knew the minute he did something stupid here, he'd be gambling Harley's life. He didn't know what happened to her, nor if Chicadino had plans for her, and he wasn't going to risk her safety for any reason.

Still, as far a client's apparently went, Charlie's was pretty good. The gamba pulled away from Charlie's muzzle and began kissing and licking his neck. Charlie shuddered and twitched as he suddenly felt tiny pangs of pleasure hit his body. His tail twitched as his body reacted to the sensual stimulation of the clients muzzle as teeth scraped the opossum's neck. Charlie was surprised as he slowly felt himself becoming more and more aroused. Of course, he was no Harley, she knew what to get him going. But this seemed different, it definitely wasn't romantic, but it was erotic, and it made Charlie feel ways he never thought he felt before.

Ok, so he was no Harley, but he was really, REALLY good. Charlie lied there on the bed as the gamba fondled and groped him, taking the time to explore and feel the opossum's body. The gamba's hand stroked up and down Charlie's tail, the opossum shuddered at the gentle caressing of his bald flesh. Charlie's ears quickly turned red as the gamba tugged Charlie's tail slightly, sending a small burst of pleasure right into the opossum's brain. Charlie moaned as the gamba's hand moved from the base of Charlie's tail, directly to his groin. Charlie shuddered as the gamba caressed the opossum's junk, which was now unpredictably stiff from unprecedented arousal.

The gamba leaned over and licked Charlie's ears while his hand worked the opossum's budge. Charlie could only shiver and moan as his body was now at the gamba's mercy. The gamba only had one arm, but it was apparently all he needed to leave to make Charlie's head swim. The gamba pulled away after a few seconds and gestured for Charlie to sit up and begin removing his clothes. Charlie's pangs of fear returned, as he believed he knew was going to happen next, but he had to do this.

For Harley.

Charlie was on the bed and on all fours as his pants were pulled down by the gamba, exposing the opossum's ass to him, his stiff cock twitching as the Charlie nervously waited for the gamba's next move. The gamba paused for a moment, a sigh escaping him, as he turned Charlie onto his back, and dove his face right into Charlie's groin. The fear was quickly overridden with pleasure as he felt a wet warmth envelop his member. His body went rigid as the client slurped almost greedily on Charlie's cock, his tongue circling around the bifurcated cockheads and around the shaft.

Charlie tried to shut it out, trying to block out the pleasure with his thoughts. This was insane, he loved Harley, HE LOVED HARLEY! This shouldn't be doing this, letting some gamba suck him off while his wife could be alone and scared. He shouldn't have to do this as punishment for something out of his control. Where was that O'possum girl that started all of this, why wasn't she here? Why was this happening, why did he feel this way? What was going on? Why couldn't he be with Harley?

The Madamas seemed to want to chuck Charlie over and over, and they seemed to do a good job at it.

The gamba pulled away as Charlie came back to the real world. He sat up and exposed his own bifurcated member and he tilted his head slightly a sigh escaped from his lips.

"Turn around." He growled, the passion from earlier escaped him.

Charlie hesitated as he turned around, he knew what was coming and was unable to do anything to stop it. The gamba sighed impatiently and help rotate Charlie, spreading and presenting him, and all the opossum could do was remember Lucia's advice.

"_If you want to survive this, then think of her, remember her name."_

Harley.

He felt as the gamba entered him, the burning pain started quickly and grew to nearly unbearable. The gamba's forked cock filled Charlie, and it wasn't long until he reached the hilt.

Harley.

He felt the passion from earlier fade as gamba began roughly thrusting inside him. It felt as if a blunt weapon was stabbing him repeatedly. Charlie's eyes watered as he buried his face in a satin pillow and howled in pain.

Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley. Harley.

The gamba cursed to himself as he slowed his pace down, reducing the burning pain Charlie felt. However, it was at this moment that Charlie was quickly and almost instantly reminded about where he was, who he was, and the world he was now forced into. He had a debt to a criminal, Chicadino. He was tasked to doing chores for Chicadino in order to pay these debts, he failed, and this was his punishment. Charlie was a whore now, in almost every sense of the word, and he would remain a whore until his debt was repaid. This wasn't supposed to enjoy anything about this, not that he'd enjoy it anyway.

But as soon as Charlie rationalized this, the pain faded, and another feeling almost replaced it. Was it… pleasure? Charlie couldn't grasp it, it felt so distant, like a whisper. But it was pleasant, and Charlie didn't want it to leave. Every thrust the gamba made, the feeling became more obvious and noticeable. Charlie shuddered as the feeling hit him again, he knew exactly what it was, and he feared it.

This gamba seemed to want to chuck Charlie, and Charlie seemed to enjoy it.

Charlie moaned loudly as the gamba pushed inside him again, his breath hot against the opossum's ears. Charlie grasped for his neglected member and in a hedonistic daze began stroking himself, his gasps were loud and heavy, and the embarrassed lust on his face was near palpable. The gamba lowered his muzzle to Charlie's neck again, his small nips and licks driving Charlie over the edge.

"H-Harley…" Charlie gasped in a nearly inaudible whisper, his confused mind trying to justify the immoral pleasure he experienced by associating it to his wife, but his body accepting the stimulation wholeheartedly. His cock throbbed as his climax began approaching.

The gamba's thrusts became harder as his groans became louder. The gamba placed his one hand gently around Charlie's throat, bracing himself for his release. Charlie's tail wrapped itself around the gamba's waist, his body almost rejecting the very notion of living without this pleasure as the opossum's legs wrapped around the gamba's waist. The passion from before had returned, now in full force. The two opossums, short-tailed and long, their emotions were almost in sync.

In fact, they would've surprised Charlie how similar he and the gamba really were, if he knew who was under that mask…

Finally, Charlie let out a strained cry as seed shot from his cock onto his lavender shirt, his orgasm hitting him hard, and his body shook from the euphoria. The gamba almost retaliated with his own orgasm, Charlie gasping loudly as the gamba made a few sharp pumps before filling the opossum with his own seed.

Exhausted and spent, Charlie lied back into the bed, his mind already fading as he began to lose consciousness. The last thing Charlie remembered seeing as he drifted off was the gamba getting up and removing his mask, but he fell asleep before he got a chance to get a look at his client's real face.

* * *

"Yeah, only guests get to sleep in those rooms. Sorry 'bout that…"

Lucia walked silently with Charlie to the dormitories where the girls slept, a series of cheaply made bunk beds with a small cubbyhole for storing small trinkets. Lucia approached one of the bunks and patted the bottom bunk. "This is where you'll sleep." She muttered lazily, worn out herself by today's events. "Tomorrow I'll tell you the official rules around here. But you should lie down for now."

Charlie slowly sat on the bottom bunk, wincing as his ass hurt. Lucia made an audible scoff. "Told'ya it was gonna hurt." She sat next to Charlie and patted his shoulder. "You'll get used to it after a while. Eventually it'll feel like nothing more than a pinch."

Charlie looked up at Lucia, and began crying for the millionth time today. "Ugh… shut up…" A girl sleeping in a nearby bunk placed a pillow on her head. "Luci, wuzzat noise…"

Lucia sat next to Charlie. "It's the new guy, Erica." She replied, wrapping an arm around Charlie's shoulders. "It's his first day here… You know how it is…"

"Nnm… tell him to shut up… I'm not in the mood for whiny bulsha today…"

Lucia looked at Charlie. "It'll get better, you'll see." Lucia climbed into the bunk. "Now get the chuck to sleep, or mama'll get pissed you're keeping her girls awake."

Charlie sniffled as he got into the bed and curled up against the pillow. He felt sick, he felt scared. He was only here for one day, and he already saw what was going to be in his future. He was a whore, like Lucia, and he was going to stay here until his debt was paid. If a client bought his services, then the money that client paid would be deducted from his debt. Nobles paid more usually, but were more aggressive. Those were the facts Madame Portgaz told him before the guests arrived.

Charlie couldn't stop thinking of Harley, of the masked gamba. He loved Harley with every fiber of his heart, but now the masked gamba had done something to him. He didn't want to admit it to Lucia, that he was supposed to be afraid of his first time, but he enjoyed it instead. The pain, the pleasure, the euphoria it was intoxicating, and Charlie felt guilty about it. He felt as if he was betraying Harley, he feared that if there were more men like the masked gamba, then he might end up not loving Harley anymore.

As usual, Charlie was in trouble, but he knew for certain this was one hole that he wouldn't be able to climb out of.


End file.
